Simply Scandinavian

[Songz 132]

I see that you did not install a hob or I am wrong ??

[Danmify 16]

Hi Dreambeast,

Could you PM me Aaron's contacts at danny.lzl83@yahoo.com.sg?

thanks!

[dreambeast 2]

I see that you did not install a hob or I am wrong ??

You can see there is a hob in my kitchen. No hood though. We don't do heavy cooking.

[dreambeast 2]

Hi Dreambeast,

Could you PM me Aaron's contacts at danny.lzl83@yahoo.com.sg?

thanks!

Hi Danmify,

see post #9. I have posted his contact.

[dreambeast 2]

This was the hacking modification we made to our flat:

We hacked away an L-shaped part of the original wall and replaced it with glass. Then we customised a wall-mounted study table from our contractor, made to specifications. I was rather anxious about the result, because I have not really considered the practicality of this design. Would it work? We were relieved that the result was as we envisioned, and no major problems arose during the process. There were so many things that could go wrong e.g. hacking not done well, cracked walls, fragility of glass, quality of the study table etc. The hacked wall and the glass had to be perfectly aligned but we understood that it would be very difficult to do so. Naturally, there were some gaps between them, but our contractor used silicone to seal them so they still looked fine.

I liked this design, because it makes the living room space look larger. In addition, I like to be able to look at the TV when I am using the computer in the study room. It is also easy to watch the main door from the study room if you are expecting guests. As I mentioned, the tricky part is really conveying your idea to your contractor, and work closely with your contractor during the whole process.

[Songz 132]

This was the hacking modification we made to our flat:

We hacked away an L-shaped part of the original wall and replaced it with glass. Then we customised a wall-mounted study table from our contractor, made to specifications. I was rather anxious about the result, because I have not really considered the practicality of this design. Would it work? We were relieved that the result was as we envisioned, and no major problems arose during the process. There were so many things that could go wrong e.g. hacking not done well, cracked walls, fragility of glass, quality of the study table etc. The hacked wall and the glass had to be perfectly aligned but we understood that it would be very difficult to do so. Naturally, there were some gaps between them, but our contractor used silicone to seal them so they still looked fine.

I liked this design, because it makes the living room space look larger. In addition, I like to be able to look at the TV when I am using the computer in the study room. It is also easy to watch the main door from the study room if you are expecting guests. As I mentioned, the tricky part is really conveying your idea to your contractor, and work closely with your contractor during the whole process.

this is a very good idea and it look nice.

[dreambeast 2]

A view of the corridor:

[dreambeast 2]

Bathroom wash area:

We switched out the default HDB basin as it was too small and bought a new one from Wasser Bath Pte Ltd (Geylang Rd). There are a few roads in Singapore where bathroom/kitchen stores cluster at, namely Geylang Road and Jalan Besar. Wasser Bath, on first glance, may seem expensive, but they have deep discounts, and after comparing prices and quality with other stores at Geylang Road and Jalan Besar, we decided to get our basins and bathroom accessories (caddy baskets, robe hooks, towel racks, toilet roll holders) from them. For bathroom accessories, they usually come in matt or chrome. Matt is generally more expensive and has a duller look, but water stains do not show up on them. Chrome is shinier and more attractive, but they also keep water stains on them easily.

Poh Seng (Jalan Besar), on first glance, also seemed slightly expensive and the lady boss wasn't very friendly (in my opinion), but their listed prices were inclusive of GST, which they actually waived during purchase. We got our bathroom mixers from them. I feel the most important thing is to get one that is heavy. Try weighing the mixers that you like in your hand and go for the heavier ones.

GR Link Marketing (Jalan Besar) had friendly service and OK prices so we got our Crizto kitchen sink and kitchen tap from them. Initially, we shortlisted the Blanco sink from Hoe Kee, but it seemed to be very popular and was out of stock. We had thought that the sink might be too big for our kitchen (it's 850mm long) , but it turned out fine and I was glad we did not go for a smaller sink . The huge washing space is really useful! Also, you need to decide if you want hot water for your kitchen. If you do, you need to get a kitchen mixer. If not, you can go for 8a normal kitchen tap.

For the bathroom cabinets, it was done by our contractor. We chose the same color as our kitchen cabinets, with soft-closing doors. One important thing to note is you can get your contractor to adjust the height when they install the basin for you. I find the default height of the wash basin too low.

The bathroom mirrors were purchased from Song Cho at a sale price. We got our kitchen rail and basket from them too. Usually, the stuff in Song Cho are rather expensive, so we did not want to buy much stuff from them. But they are known for their quality stainless steel products.

There are other oft-mentioned stores that we visited but did not buy anything from e.g. Sim Siang Choon (wide range of products in their Changi showroom) and Hoe Kee (quite popular too) so you can also check them out when you go shopping for bathroom/kitchen stuff. Remember to ask for discounts!

Edited January 24, 2014 by dreambeast

[dreambeast 2]

One of the things you have to decide for your bathrooms is the type of water heater you will need. The two popular choices are instant heater and storage heater. Depending on your floor level, most HDB flats have only average water pressure. If you are planning on using rainshower, which needs higher water pressure, you will need a storage heater. Storage heater also provides hotter water than instant heater because the water is stored in a tank and heated before you shower, whereas instant heater heats the water as you are showering.

For instant heaters, you may choose to install a heater for each bathroom, or a central one that services both your bathrooms. The advantage of a heater for each bathroom is that you get hot water faster because the heater resides in the same bathroom. In the case of a central heater, you will need to wait for the water to be transported to your shower if the central heater is not in the same bathroom as your shower. If you get a gas central heater, you have to install it in the service yard because gas leakage can be dangerous in confined spaces ! If you get an electrical heater, then there are no such restraints.

We went for a gas instant heater (Ferroli) and installed it in our service yard:

Because of the distance between the service yard and our bathrooms, it does take a while to get hot water after we turn on the shower (~30s).

If you are looking to get a gas heater, you can visit the Citygas showroom at Triple One Somerset, or look out for their roadshows. They are constantly having promotions (e.g. vouchers, discounts, waiver of gas pipe installation etc.). However, do take note that they do NOT do installation of water pipes from the heater to your bathrooms, so you will have to get your contractor or plumber to do that.

Also in our service yard is our washing machine (Samsung):

Washing machines come in two types: front-loading and top-loading. The advantages of front-loading is that they usually use less water, are gentler on the clothes (resulting in slower wash cycle), and can be stacked together with a dryer. The advantages of top-loading is that you can add in clothes to wash while the washing machine is working, and have a faster wash cycle.

We bought our washing machine from Mega DIscount Store and quite like it because it "sings" a funny tune when it is done with the washing !

Edited January 26, 2014 by dreambeast

[Frederick84 1]

nice intro, great tips on the stuff to look out for, ideas for the design and where to source for the various items. Thank you.

jus to check with u, the 16k u mentioned, is inc of the cost of the items done by sub-contractor you self source ? like the flooring that one ?

how is the coordination like between you, the sub con u find, and the main con ?

Aaron is okok with such arrangement ??

I am curious as I heard a sub con saying that he prefer to be intro to the main con.. then main con direct coordinate with him.. then he will charge to the main con while the main con charge to house owner.. cos he got experience that he work as a sub con direct under house owner.. end up the main con 'bully' him..

any such events ??

[dreambeast 2]

nice intro, great tips on the stuff to look out for, ideas for the design and where to source for the various items. Thank you.

jus to check with u, the 16k u mentioned, is inc of the cost of the items done by sub-contractor you self source ? like the flooring that one ?

how is the coordination like between you, the sub con u find, and the main con ?

Aaron is okok with such arrangement ??

I am curious as I heard a sub con saying that he prefer to be intro to the main con.. then main con direct coordinate with him.. then he will charge to the main con while the main con charge to house owner.. cos he got experience that he work as a sub con direct under house owner.. end up the main con 'bully' him..

any such events ??

Hi Frederick84,

16K excludes the flooring and aircon.

Aaron is our main contractor. He has stated upfront that he does not do air-con so we were told to find our own aircon contractor. We did our own coordination with the aircon contractor. And our flooring salesman, Kenny, is his friend so it was easy for him to coordinate. The rest of the work was done by Aaron's team of sub-contractors.

I think it is not advisable to have too many sub-contractors working directly under the house owner, especially if something goes wrong and they start blaming one another and refusing to rectify their own defects. At least, if you have a main contractor, you can just tell the main contractor to sort the problem out with his own people. It will be less of a hassle for the house owner.

[archdesignmaster 0]

A view of the corridor:

This is gorgeous. It has a lot of space and you can turn on your imagination and use the area in the most appropriate way. When I was at the same point as you, just about to make some changes in the interior, I browsed through a lof of online blogs.They helped me a lot! Since I found some really nice ideas that later showed to the constructions team. And they succeeded in implementing some really attractive ideas into my place I strongly recommend that you browse some sites and get an inspiration. Good luck!!

Edited January 30, 2014 by archdesignmaster

[dreambeast 2]

We had thought that room colors will be relatively easy to choose, since we only wanted white walls. However, we didn't expect there will be so many different variants of white! Also, we were deciding between Nippon and Dulux, since these two are the more popular and trusted brands. Price-wise, Nippon seems to be more expensive than Dulux. Of course, it also depends on which product range of the selected brand you go for. It is VERY important to specify the range of paint in your quotation. If you just specify Nippon, the contractor may just use a cheaper range of Nippon paint e.g. Vinilex 5000. You also need to check how many colors they are limiting you to for your entire flat (sometimes only 3 and you have to top up for more paint), and how many coats of paint you are paying for (minimum should be 2, some contractors do 3). If you are hacking walls, consider getting your contractor to put a layer of wall sealer over the affected walls before painting over them.

Eventually, we settled for Nippon Odour-less EasyWash. Nippon has 10 different variants of white. We picked Sail White for our living room and study room, Orchid White for our wardrobe room and Lily White for our master bedroom. Sail White looks good, just like the white we imagined . However, Orchid White and Lily White do not look like what we see in the catalog ! The differences are more dramatic in real life when you are looking at an entire room painted with the color compared to just a small box in a catalog.

Orchid White in wardrobe room looks more pinkish than expected:

All in all, we were fine with how the painting turned out. But if you think you are very particular about the colors in your rooms and want them to be as perfectly as you imagined, it would be good to drop by on actual flats with the same color you are planning to use. Ask around on your project Facebook page if there is one, or consult your contractor . You could also check out your neighbour's flats when they are doing their renovation. However, do be polite and ask first before going in uninvited!

[dreambeast 2]

Aside from the dining light, we have three types of lights in our house. There is the simple 38W energy saving round type of light that we used in all our bedrooms, living room, kitchen, service yard and bomb shelter.

We changed the ballast from the default magnetic one to an electronic one so that the lights come on without flickering. In hindsight, I feel that 38W is not bright enough for my living room, and will be looking to change to a 50W in the future. For all the other rooms, 38W is good enough.

We have 2 6W LEDs in our bathrooms. They are super bright!

We like LEDs and would have outfitted our whole house with LEDs if not for the price. Branded LEDs e.g. Philips are pretty expensive and would have cost us near $2000 for the entire house!

Next, we have the small halogen lights that illuminate our bedroom entrance, corridor and main door entrance.

We seldom turn on these halogen lights, although they give out quite a nice effect when they are on .

As you can see, most of our lights are cool in color except for the halogen lights which are warm in color. Colors can greatly affect the ambience of the room. If you are doing serious stuff e.g. cooking in the kitchen or studying in the study room, you probably want cool color lighting. Warm colors give a very cosy ambience and can be good for the bedroom or living room.

Our lights were bought from a shop called Choon Ying in Kaki Bukit. Aaron brought us there and assured us that they are one of the cheapest in the East. We thought their prices were reasonable but the range of lights they sell are rather limited. Also, we had two of our 38W lights changed after they stopped working within two months, so I think the quality of their products is also suspect. Nonetheless, they do have free 1-for-1 exchange within 6 months, so it is not that bad, just a bit of hassle.

You will need to budget in the cost and installation of the lights when doing your renovation, as they are additional items usually not included in your contractor's quotation. Cheers!

[dreambeast 2]

Some of the things we did for the house, we simply got from the respective contractors recommended in Renotalk without much research. Saved us a lot of time .These include curtains (J&B), aircon (Hong Huat Electrical) and racks (Yee Sin) in the bomb shelter.

Bomb shelter racks from Yee Sin:

So far so good. Thanks for the recommendations, fellow forummers!

Edited February 17, 2014 by dreambeast